Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1390352
ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JULY 7, 2021 Page 20 OSHA's Heat Illness Prevention Campaign Provides Tools and Guidance*…continued from page 19 Creation of a Heat Illness Prevention Plan Employers whose workers will be exposed to hot working conditions outdoors or indoors should create a written plan to prevent heat- related illness. Use the tools on OSHA's web site to help. Important elements to consider when creating the heat plan are: • Who will provide oversight on a daily basis? • How will new workers gradually develop heat tolerance? • Temporary workers may be more susceptible to heat and require closer supervision. How will this occur? • Workers returning from extended leave (typically defined as more than two weeks) may also be at increased risk. How will they be monitored and/or gradually re-introduced to the heat? • How will the employer ensure that first aid is adequate and the protocol for summoning medical assistance in situations beyond first aid is effective? • What engineering controls and work practices will be used to reduce heat stress? • How will heat stress be measured? • How will your company respond when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory or heat warning? • How will you determine if the total heat stress is hazardous? • What training will be provided to workers and supervisors? Heat conditions can change rapidly and management commitment to adjusting heat stress controls is critical to prevent heat illness. An individual at the worksite should be responsible for monitoring conditions and implementing the employer's heat plan throughout the workday. This individual can be an owner, jobsite supervisor, operations manager, safety director, or anyone else with the proper training. Proper training includes knowing how to: • identify and control heat hazards; • recognize early symptoms of heat stress; • administer first aid for heat-related illnesses; and • activate emergency medical services quickly when needed. Ideally, the individual who is responsible for the heat plan should be on site, where the workers are. On-site monitoring allows accurate determination of heat stress. In the portable sanitation industry, our widely distributed workforce is not feasible for drivers and other workers off the yard. In those cases, the responsible individual in the yard/at the company base should be fully trained on the means and methods to contact workers, and for off-site workers to report to the employer any adverse heat related conditions that may develop as well as any signs and symptoms of heat related illness experienced in the course of the day. The responsible individual in a central location should estimate heat stress using the best available methods for remote estimation. Continued on page 21